David Cronenberg's Early Movie About Parasites Turning People into Sex Maniacs Is Being Remade

In 1975, David Cronenberg made a daring, smartly subversive film called Shivers that combined zombie tropes, body horror and underlying social commentary about isolation and paranoia in the pre-Internet age. The film is set in a high-rise apartment where parasites have infected the residents, turning them into sex-crazed killers. Shivers established themes Cronenberg would continue to reshape throughout his next several films, cementing the Canadian director as an influential force and unique voice in genre filmmaking.shiver

Deadline is now reporting that Danish director and actress Rie Rasmussen will be remaking the movie. "I’m Scandinavian and am very comfortable with sexual expression as a part of a healthy, modern-day reality, and I’ve always loved the underlying social messages in a well-made horror film," she told the website. "The opportunity to reinterpret this film from today’s point of view, adding my own female intuition and life experience was a temptation I couldn’t resist." Rasmussen's mentor, none other than Quentin Tarantino, will be "working with her." The extent of QT's involvement is unclear, but we imagine it's largely behind the scenes as producers Jeff Sackman and Michael Baker have already been announced.

Admittedly, this writer isn't very familiar with Rasmussen's work, including Thinning the Herd, which was nominated for the Best Short Film Palme d'Or in 2004. Regardless, I'm torn between curiosity and excitement over a female perspective, and my sigh-worthy feelings about a Cronenberg remake. I look forward to seeing how Rasmussen's perspective develops, which I'm hoping is in the vein of someone as delightfully twisted and intelligent as Marina de Van. What say you?

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